The first film made by the American director John Milius, whose subsequent output has included The Wind and The Lion and Conan the Barbarian. Milius pushes along his bullet-strewn narrative in the best Untouchables style, graphically illustrating the violence and self-glorification that bubbles beneath his characters on both sides of the legal fence. The acting from Warren Oates, Ben Johnson and company is first-rate, with the exception of a wild performance by Richard Dreyfuss (as Baby Face Nelson) which provides little hint of the Oscar-winning splendours to come in his career. The tailpiece will hit you hard.

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